


The Four Familiars

by RembrandtsWife



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Animals, Familiars, Gen, Hogwarts Founders Era, Pets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-15
Updated: 2013-11-15
Packaged: 2018-01-01 16:22:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1045982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RembrandtsWife/pseuds/RembrandtsWife
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There's a difference between an eagle and a raven. There's also usually a difference between the official story and what really happened.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Four Familiars

**Author's Note:**

> Mommybird is always lagging behind the cool kids, as I'm sure my gentle readers know, which is why only yesterday did I log in to Pottermore and get Sorted by the Hat. As I have always claimed, I'm a Ravenclaw. *fist pump!* (My familiar is a Brown Owl, and my wand is chestnut with a unicorn core, ten and three-quarter inches, hard.)
> 
> This got me to wondering, once again, why the heraldic beast of Ravenclaw is an eagle and not, you know, a raven. And then this story happened....

According to _Hogwarts: A History_ , the Four Founders of Hogwarts each had a noble beast as a companion. Godric Gryffindor had a lion as tame as a housecat. Salazar Slytherin had a terrifying serpent which coiled about him meekly like a silver collar. Helga Hufflepuff was accompanied everywhere by a faithful badger. And Rowena Ravenclaw had a mighty eagle which came at her call and ate from her hand.

    So says the official history, at any rate. But the prologue of _Hogwarts: A History_ is closer to legend than to history, and legends are apt to get garbled, miscopied, misconstrued, and even selectively edited.

    Godric Gryffindor did not possess a lion as tame as a housecat. He had, in fact, a housecat: A massive beast, ginger-gold with a thick ruff of fur round its neck, a superb mouser. He named it Leo, which of course means "lion", because it resembled a lion. Some things lose in translation, but occasionally, things gain.

    Slytherin actually possessed a tiny dragon, a stunted creature the size of a very large parrot that liked to sit on his shoulder. It could not spit fire or venom, but it was able to fly quite well. Little Tahneen, as he called the beast (which is the Moorish word for a dragon), notably disliked Gryffindor and his students, and it was a vicious biter.

    Helga Hufflepuff was one of those people who cannot allow an animal to suffer. Her rooms were always filled with creatures both ordinary and magical who were recovering from some ailment. Among her animal companions, a goat, a badger, and a hedgehog were her favorites and helpers in her magical work. The hedgehog accompanied her constantly, often riding in her bosom. It is not known why she called the hedgehog "Martin", but it is believed to have some connection to the great saint of that name.

    Similarly, Rowena Ravenclaw was always surrounded by birds. (If there was anything on which Godric and Salazar agreed, it was that Rowena and Helga just had Too Many Pets.) She mastered the art of enchanting owls as messengers, since unlike the doves and pigeons who were formerly used, they could defend themselves against attack. She obtained a number of parrots from distant lands, many of whom learned to speak and would shout the words of brief spells such as "Lumos!" or rude sayings such as, "Godric is a dickhead!" and, "Shut up, Salazar!"

    Her true familiar, however, was a raven, by whom she obtained her by-name. (The name of her family has long been forgotten.) It was a clever and mischievous creature which could talk better than any parrot (and, indeed, likely taught its mistress's parrots what they knew). It would eat from her hand or her lips, beg treats from friendly visitors, join in conversation as a child might, and contrive to leave large and smelly droppings on the shoulders of unfriendly guests (Gryffindor being its favorite target). When the first Chronicles of Hogwarts were being written, it was Gryffindor's son Albus who directed the chronicler to say that Ravenclaw had possessed an eagle, not a raven. "No more bloody ravens in this school! Write that it's an eagle, no one will try to tame one of those."

    There is a story, not written down but passed down by word of mouth among the students of House Ravenclaw, that Albus Gryffindor cast a spell to banish birds, except for owls, from alighting on the stones of Hogwarts. Nevertheless, there may always be found ravens roosting on the west tower which once housed Rowena's eyrie, and which now contains the Ravenclaw common room and dorms.

    ("I told him that spell would never work," said Slytherin's daughter Saleema. "You know he'll never admit that," said Hufflepuff's son Hakon. "Gryffindors," said Ravenclaw's raven, and pooped on the windowsill.)


End file.
